AMBER MATTICE
Staff Writer
The evening of Jan. 29 was full of sights to see at the reception being held in the Marion Art Gallery here on campus.
Gerald Mead’s collection is on display until Feb. 28 and features 112 works of art by 112 different Western New York-based artists.
“One of the things I’m very pleased about is, because it’s on a college campus, I know that faculty, staff and students will be able to use it as an educational tool,” said Mead in regard to having his collection displayed on campus.
Being able to use the collection as a tool is certainly no understatement, as there is such a variety of mediums throughout. The collection features watercolor, oil and acrylic paintings, sculpture, pottery, mixed media and printing processes, with each method being utilized in so many ways.
“This exhibition was especially cool because it was not only one artist, but a collector’s archives, and so there were a lot of different artists and mediums, which is great because sometimes you only get one medium,” freshman animation and illustration major Kathleen Fenton stated after attending the gallery.
Every wall in the gallery was covered in art, and the diversity of said art is what made the gallery so interesting. Pieces varied from the extremely colorful to the simpler gray scale. There were intricate designs and sculptures, as well as more minimalist paintings. But every piece held its own amongst the others and stood out in unique ways.
“I really liked the more minimalist pieces because they were clean, subtle and beautiful, and I love minimalist art,” said Melissa Neuburger, a freshman animation and illustration major.
Perhaps one of the most beneficial things about the gallery was the fact that many of the prominent artists, whose art was in the gallery, attended the reception.
Bruce Adams, whose work was titled “Untitled #3” said, “Your work is being seen by people who are kind of at the start of things, and they get very excited about it in a way that the regular art community doesn’t exhibit, and it’s really neat to see that.”
Adams’ work has been displayed in a gallery on campus around three times before, so he was very familiar with exposing art to students and seeing how inspired they are by the work that they experience.
Aside from Adams, the gallery featured artists such as Jason Seeley, Paul Sharits, Nancy Dwyer and Ken Price.
Students seemed to be inspired by the various displays and mediums that were in the gallery. Almost all of the students were carrying notebooks with them and writing things down, and many seemed to make sure to see every piece in the gallery before leaving the reception.
“If artists and students are learning how to create good work, it’s important for them to see extraordinary, superior work to serve as a model and to have the opportunity to see work for them to aspire to,” stated Mead on exposing young artists to professional work.
The gallery was certainly a success as students and artists alike seemed to be enjoying themselves. All of the artists attending seemed very willing to speak about their work, and every student seemed to find pieces that spoke to their own style.
Art is meant to be inspiring and unique, and this particular collection was the perfect mix to be just that.
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